Lucas Paqueta rules himself out of West Ham United v Brighton as image emerges after leg injury
West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta has seemingly ruled himself out of Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Brighton (2 January) after a message sent on social media.
The Brazilian ace sent a message on his Instagram account (29 December) revealing to the West Ham fans that he will be back in action within a week after suffering a knee injury in the 2-0 win over Arsenal on Thursday (28 December).
The West Ham ever-present was withdrawn after 33 minutes following a knock to his knee as David Moyes’ men stunned Arsenal at the Emirates on Thursday (28 December) to record their first win in North London in eight years.
Paqueta took to his Instagram account to thank fans for the message of support but inadvertently revealed that he will miss Tuesday’s game against Brighton at the London Stadium.
He posted: “I just want to thank everyone for the messages, it was just a small injury on the calf and in 1 week I will be back!”
He also posted a picture of himself in a compression boot.
God willing
When Paqueta trudged off the pitch before half-time, plenty of West Ham United fans may well have been fearing the worst for the Brazilian after he went down in agony.
The 26-year-old midfielder has been absolutely stunning for the East Londoners in recent weeks, recording four assists in his last two games before Thursday’s Arsenal win and recording two goals and five assists so far this season.
There is now real hope at the club that Paqueta’s knock isn’t as bad as it may have looked but they can take encouragement from the sight of the Brazilian walking off the players at full time which suggests it may not be a severe blow.
However, his latest post on Instagram suggests he will definitely miss Tuesday’s game with the Seagulls and despite it being only one game, it will be a real blow given Mohammed Kudus will be out too as he travels away for the African Cup of Nations.
So who will David Moyes rely on in Paqueta and Kudus’ absence?
In other West Ham United news, the club has made a “100%” Moyes sack decision, with David Sullivan set to schedule a sit-down early next year.